Intoxicated woman charged in 911 shooting hoax

VENETIA, Pa. (AP) — A woman has been jailed on charges she phoned in a hoax report of a shooting to 911 dispatchers that prompted police to surround the southwestern Pennsylvania home of an estranged relative.

Peters Township police say 36-year-old Tara Howard, of Canonsburg, reported someone had been shot and was bleeding inside the home about 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Police say the homeowner arrived to find police there, and told them he had a cellphone voicemail from the woman who had warned him she planned to cause police an "inconvenience."

Police say the woman was intoxicated and was also identified because she called back two or three times with the phony information.